denial
by Someone aka Me
Summary: "He's Albus Severus Potter and it takes you too long to realise you're in love with him." AlScorpius.


This is my first OS in over a month because I've been so busy with school. It feels good to get back into it.

For the Big Sis/Lil Sis Competition.

**Prompts: **Pairing: Albusii/Scorpius, Quote: "If I fall for you, I'll never recover / If I fall for you, I'll never be the same" –Love Somebody, Maroon 5, Emotion: insane

Must be located at least primarily in the Slytherin dungeons.

Connects with Sam by the theme of realising a long-denied love.

.

He's Albus Severus Potter and it takes you too long to realise you're in love with him.

For too long, you deny it even to yourself — but in the end it is inevitable.

The first sign that you ignore is the feeling you get when you're around him. The way your brain seems to light up, the way you can't quite suppress the grin. But then, it's always sort of been that way, because Al's been your best friend for ages. You aren't really sure when it changes from the way you light up at your best mate to the way you light up for… something more, but it doesn't matter when it happens, because whenever it was, you ignore it. It's not happening. If you don't acknowledge it, it's not happening.

The second sign that you ignore is the way you feel the first time you actually sees Al kissing someone else. You've known, on a mental level, that Al dates, but you never really allow yourself to think about what that entails. It just… is, and you don't really linger on it.

But then you walk in on Al kissing Sarah MacMillan and it becomes all-too-real all-too-quickly. Something inside of you twists into knots. You wind up fleeing Al's Common Room altogether and hiding in a nearby abandoned classroom. The dungeons are cold — you blame your chills on that. That must be the reason, right?

You cannot be— no. You can't even think about it because it changes everything, and that's not acceptable.

The third sign you ignore is the way something inside of you lurches the first time you see Al kiss another boy. Sarah was different. Sarah was something other. Zach is not. Zach could be you, and something inside of you is furious that— no. You are not jealous of Zach.

If you repeat it enough times, will you finally begin to believe it?

There comes a point when you cannot deny it anymore. You have tried. You never meant to fall for him, because falling for him changes everything. Falling for him changes your entire life plan — you cannot exactly just bounce back from that.

But you catch yourself staring at him while he's sprawled shirtless in front of the Slytherin fire one too many times to continue denying it.

You have fallen for him. Albus Severus Potter — the Slytherin Potter, his family's anomaly, but a Potter, nonetheless. You have killed the Malfoy line. It dies with you, if you accept this.

You cannot find the energy to care about lineage, not when those peculiar green eyes are so close to yours.

But you shake your head and leave it alone because Al Potter has dated too many people to count on your hands and you don't want to be just another number. You don't want to judge him because he is your best friend and he's never been anything less than loyal to you — but you don't want to do anything to jeopardise that, and you can't help but worry.

And maybe some part of you is still hoping that if you don't think about it, it will go away.

Then those peculiar green eyes are close, too close and Albus is leaning towards you, tipping across the invisible boundary line that crosses his bed and he murmurs, "Just say if you want me to stop." And you don't have time to process it, don't have time to consider all the implications of this moment and you're the Gyffindor and Al's the Slytherin here which means he has _already _considered this and is purposely giving you no chance to and then—

Then his lips are on yours and your brain shuts down because he's _Al_ and his lips are chapped and dry and that's so very _Al _that you almost want to laugh but you hold the laugh in and kiss him back because… what else do you do in this sort of situation?

And it's messy and you don't really know what you're doing but he does and you feel very out of your depth until he pulls away and grins at you, a wide grin showing his teeth and he says, "Score, will you go on a date with me?"

And you can't help but laugh now because he's so completely _Al_ and you've fallen and things will never be the same because he's brilliantly, utterly insane and you love him all the same.

"Al, I really think you're supposed to do those things in the opposite order."

He shrugs and grins at you and says, "Is that a yes?"

And what else can you do but nod and kiss him again, because he's Albus Severus Potter, the Slytherin Potter, his family's anomaly, and he is yours, absolutely yours.


End file.
